	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA FINALS: CELTIC v LAKERS

June 13, 2010

Rajon Rondo

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game Five

Los Angeles Lakers 86
Boston Celtics 92

Q. Talk about that last hoop that you scored, the one that probably maybe sealed the game. Kind of reminded us of the steal that sealed it, too, but talk about this one in particular.
RAJON RONDO: You know, Doc told Kevin to take the ball out of bounds and he wanted myself or P to get open. Kevin ended up throwing it to Paul and Paul looked like he was leaning out of bounds, so he tried to make a break for the play and he hit me in stride, and I thought I had an easy lay-up. They thought it was difficult, but I thought I had an easy look at the rim.

Q. Paul and Doc were talking about the end of the half, the miscommunication, whatever you want to call it. Kind of talk about from your perspective what happened there.
RAJON RONDO: I knew Paul had it going, and Luke Walton was really hard trying to deny him the ball, and I tried to look him off knowing that I was going to Paul, but it was just communication, and I just wanted to make a play.

Q. I don't know if this was related, but it seemed like the ball movement was better in the second half. Was that related or just kind of happened?
RAJON RONDO: No, it just kind of happened. Nobody said anything except for me and Paul at halftime, but that wasn't a point of emphasis at halftime. I think they had eight offensive rebounds at halftime out of 16 total, so we wanted to keep them off the glass.

Q. After Game 4 you said winning back-to-back games would be key. You guys did that tonight. Now is this your series to win and the Lakers' series to lose headed out west?
RAJON RONDO: Yeah, we're up 3-2 but the other five games are in the past. We have to focus on one game, playing great or close to great, for 48 minutes and taking advantage of the opportunity that we have up 3-2.

Q. Any added pressure playing in enemy territory?
RAJON RONDO: No, we play better on the road anyway, I think.

Q. You guys beat them two years ago, now you're up on them, you have them on the brink again this season. Can it start to become a mental thing for them about whether they can beat you in a series?
RAJON RONDO: Only until we win the Game 4 I can answer that question. It's still anybody's series. They're the world champions. They're the defending champions. I'm sure they're going to come out and fight hard, so it's not over -- the series is not over yet.

Q. Do you think the people here, whether the team or the fans, would enjoy it more because it comes against the Lakers if you do get one more win in the next two games?
RAJON RONDO: Yeah, definitely. It would be something special because it is the Lakers, the history that these two franchises have had in the past couple years and almost a century. It would be great to get the win against the Lakers.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about KG and just the complete game he seemed to have, the rebounds, the points, and even with all those steals and a few blocked shots, how critical was that to see him put it all together?
RAJON RONDO: Very critical. I think a couple of guys maybe thought KG lost a step or something when he struggled in the first few games, but he's caught his rhythm, doing intangibles on the court, scoring, rebounding, assisting, blocking shots, he's changing the game. That's what he's been doing for us all year. He's big for us. He may not score 27 points, 26 points, but he's happy with his role, and he's doing it well.

Q. Doc said KG and Tony were calming people down in the huddle. Was that unusual from Kevin?
RAJON RONDO: Yeah. He's the leader, and today he was the leader. He very seldom loses his composure and tonight was an example of what he did. He just kept guys calm in the huddle and kept focus.

Q. What is it about the mental toughness of this team that's let you guys get to this point especially the way you ended the regular season?
RAJON RONDO: Just each individual guy, just the fight. No one wants to lose. We want to give it all we have, and when one guy doesn't have it going, it seems like each game someone else is stepping up and making plays for our team. I said a couple press conferences ago that we have great camaraderie on the team and we're very close off the court and guys are always supportive of one another.

Q. What do you think it was about tonight that you got a lot of your bigger name players playing well at the same time?
RAJON RONDO: They stayed in the game, they didn't get in foul trouble tonight, got easy looks in transition. We didn't get to the line as much as possible, but they got a lot of easy good looks. Paul had a lot of wide open threes. Ray had some good looks, a couple lay-ups to start the second half. Kevin was finding his rhythm, taking his time on the block. Knowing when he has to be aggressive, knowing when he makes the pass. They're in the game for one, like I said, out of foul trouble, and for two they're just in a good rhythm right now, perfect timing.

Q. Talk about the play in the second quarter when you got called for the technical. Artest seemed to shove Kevin and you seemed to shove back. Talk about that play.
RAJON RONDO: Pretty self-explanatory really. I felt that Kevin -- that Artest pushed Kevin. It wasn't just a regular foul. We weren't going anywhere, so in Kevin's defense I pushed him back.

Q. Do you think Artest flopped on that play?
RAJON RONDO: I'm not that strong. (Laughter). He did a little bit. He's probably the strongest guy on the court in this series. I've been lifting a little bit, but other than that, I didn't push him that hard.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297